


If It Ain't You Today It Will Be You Tomorrow

by ivypool



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Breaking the Warrior Code (Warriors), Gen, Hollyleaf does the right thing but is conflicted, Shut up about Ashfur, ThunderClan (Warriors), Warrior Cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivypool/pseuds/ivypool
Summary: Hollyleaf commits a (justified) murder.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	If It Ain't You Today It Will Be You Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> this was suppose to be an oc piece but i guess the hell not
> 
> enjoy this drabble 
> 
> alt title: SHUT UP ABOUT ASHFUR

If the night could have been darker, it would have been a blessing. Streaking along the grass, the black cat stalked her prey. They did not know that she was approaching, and perhaps, that was for the best. This was something that had to be done swiftly. Swiftly and quietly, preferably. Her paws felt like they were floating across the earth, the adrenaline pumping hard in her ears was the only sound she could hear. Not even her own breath. Not even her prey’s. 

The internal turmoil of the act that was about to occur weighed heavy on her. Unfortunately, there was no denying that this was a necessity. She wasn’t sure how much she trusted the stars. The stars seemed to guide them all, and every word from them was taken with a high regard. 

However, there were more than stars in the sky. Something that was never touched on in clan life. There was more up there than just ancestors. There were darker things up high within those shining, bright, lights.

Would her ancestors be smiling down at her for this? Or would they shun her? This was her path to take, not theirs. And even if they were displeased-- truly, what could they do to prevent it? What could they do to punish her? As much as the sky held power, it also held them back from the real world down below. They were mere pieces of light. 

While medicine cats may think differently. While leaders may think differently. While clan cats as a whole, might think differently… She was prepared to take the chance of defying the wishes from above. She was tired of signs. Starclan were never really there. Not for her. They didn’t care for her

Had she abandoned Starclan? While she would say, no, not quite, it was… Evident that there was no real faith remaining. They’d allowed it all to happen.

The world seemed to darken, her pace quickened.

Clouds covered the sky, the moon, desperate to break through to her world, as if to stop her. 

But it couldn’t. 

The stars in the sky were hidden by the dark clouds, not even a faint glimmer slipping through.

  
And then they began to cry.

The droplets from the sky began to fall, lightly hitting off of the leaves on the trees around them. Her prey tensed, looking to the sky in dismay, clearly upset about getting their pelt wet. Perhaps she would have laughed at this, if not trying to be quiet. 

There was far more for this cat to worry about than simply getting a little wet in the fur.

She stepped forward.

Thoughts ran through her head so quickly that she felt out of breath. Could she do this? There was no choice, she reminded herself. But she was thinking in past tense. She hadn’t done anything yet. There was still time to back out.

No, no there wasn’t. Not now. She stepped forward.

Her prey tensed, turning around quickly to meet her.

But it was too late. All but a squeak erupted from their mouth as she tore at their throat in one single swipe.

There was so much blood. Was she squeamish now? It was pouring out. She didn’t think there would be so much blood. She’d never done something like this before. Killing another cat? It was foreign. 

Was there supposed to be this much blood from a throat wound? Would it stop? The cat was gasping for air in front of her, paws trembling as they scraped at the ground and at the air, unable to hold onto anything that could bring their pain to a halt.

She almost wanted them to suffer, too. 

She was frozen, merely watching them grasp at the air around them, the blood pouring from the wound all across the ground. Her paws grew uncomfortably sticky as the blood pooled around them. She felt sick. She felt so sick. But there wasn’t any choice. There was nothing she could do. She made the decision, and she would have to go on through it.

She didn’t want to do this-- But at the same time, she did. This cat was horrible. This cat was terrible. This cat deserved this fate. But she still felt guilt. She still felt her own pain in having it come to this. She thought about her mother… Her mother… Who was her mother? 

She was shaking. Her paws felt heavy and it was difficult to stand. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, her mind whirling and the blood flowing, pooling around her. She couldn’t breathe. The stench, the sound, everything. Her thoughts were out of control.

She gasped for air, taking a breath,opening her eyes wide.

And then there was silence. There was nothing. Nothing stirred in the forest around her. Everything had frozen in time. Her breath held, she slowly moved her head to stare down at the form below her. 

The wretched face of Ashfur, twisted in pain, his paws outstretched as if trying to hold onto her before his inevitable fall. The blood around him stained the ground. It stained his grey fur as it dripped out of the wound in his neck. 

She did it.

She did it. She did what had to be done. She did what she needed to do. She did it. She did it. She did it.

Her family was safe. They were safe. They were all safe! The secret wouldn’t get out. They would be free. They wouldn’t be shamed by their clan, they could live on happily as the warriors and medicine cat they were meant to be. All three of them. All three of them together. They would be happy.

She was laughing. She was laughing out at what she’d done. Not with happiness, but with true dread. The laugh was hollow and empty. The laugh was scared. The laugh was like a terrified kit’s wail.

What had she done? What had she done? There was only one answer to that. Ashfur deserved this, but what would the clan think? What would they do to her? What would the stars do to her? Did they even see what she’d done? The clouds were covering the sky… Maybe they would have missed it. Maybe it would have gone unseen?

Could anyone forgive her for this? She couldn’t tell anyone the full story without revealing the secret that she had killed for. What could she do? She panicked.

She had made sure of one thing, however. She had abandoned Starclan before they could abandon her.


End file.
